Apparatus for manufacturing armored conductors



P. WIGGINS Oct 16, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARMORED CONDUCTORS Filed Aug. 2, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MN bk INVENTOR.

P. WlGGlNS Oct. 16, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARMORED CONDUCTORS Filed Aug. 2, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR.

Patented Oct. 16, 1934 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARMORED- CONDUCTORS Peter Wiggins, I Maspeth, N. Y., assignor to Eastern Tubea-nd Tool o; Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y.,

a corporation of New York Application August 2 1930, Serial No. 472,634

13' (Llaims. (Cl. 173 -2 24? This invention relates to the manufacture of armored conductors, andparticularly conduc tors involving two or more strands contained in jackets or sheaths of insulating material, around 5 which is formed a flexible, metallic. sheath or casing; and the object of the invention is to provide an improved machine orv apparatus for manufacturing conductors of the class under consideration in accordance with a simple, efficient and. substantially. fool-proof method, whereby undue stress and strain to. which machines of this class haveheretofore been subjected, is substantially. removed, and further whereby the speed of production may be increased; a further object of the. invention is to provide means for treating paper strips or strands wound upon the conductors with .a water and fireproof compound prior to folding said strips into the desired and required dimensions andiniad- 20. vance of winding the same upon said conductors;

a further object'being to provide means for feed-J.

stress or strain in the operation of feeding the,

same from a delivery drum; and with these and other objects in view, the invention .consists in an apparatus of the class and for the purpose specified, which is simple in construction and operation and efficient in use, and in the method of forming conductors of the class specified, as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, andin whichz- Fig. l is a plan view of an apparatus made according to my invention with parts of the con struction broken away and in section.

paratus as seen in Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale with parts of the construction shown in a differ-.

ent position from that shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 2 is an end and sectional view of the ap-" Fig. 3 is a detail view of scoring rollers which,

I employfor scoring the paper insulating strips employed in forming the conductors. r Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detail view of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Fig. .5 is an end view of the structure shown 6!); in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a side and plan view of a compound curling die, which is employed.

In carrying my invention into effect, I provide a frame consisting of longitudinal frame members 10 and 11, joined by transverse frame members 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, the members 13, 14, 15 and 16 being in the form of standards, in the upper ends'of which are bearings for tubular shafts 17and 18 disposed at opposite ends of the machine, the shaft 17 being arranged in the bearings 13 and 14, and the shaft 18 in the bearings 15 and 16. Mounted on suitable supports 19 at the outer .side of the frame 10 is an electric motor 20 hav- 75,,

ing shafts projecting at opposite ends thereof, and on which are arranged sprockets 21 and 22 over which are passed chains 21a, 22a, which pass around other-sprockets 2lb-and 22b onthe shafts 17' and 18 respectively, and by means of which 80. said shafts are rotated.

The shaft 17 carries at its free end, a spool or .drum 23 upon which the twisted, insulated, wire conductors 24 are wound, and from which the conductors are fed into and through the ma- 8 5 chine in the application of the insulating sheaths and armored casing thereon. On the core of the spool 23 is a plate 25, normally heldadjacent the core by the conductors 24 wound thereon, and this plate isreleased when the last or substantially the last coil of conductors is removed from the spool to permit the same to move radially with respect to thespool by gravity orcentrifugal force.

The plate 25 carries an arm 25a arranged externally of one side of the spool 23, which is adapted when projected as seen in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings in the radial movement of the plate 25, to engage and operate a switch arm 26 controlling the electric motor circuit through wires 27 which are. in circuit with the electric motor. The arm 26 is normally in raised position, and when in this position, the circuit through the wires 2'7 is closed, whereasthe depression of this arm will break this circuit.

Keyed tothe inner side face of the spool 23 is a friction disk 28 in connection with which atensionally controlled friction pad 29 operates to provide a slight drag on the reel 23 so as to prevent unravelling :of, the conductors therefrom, and 119 into and through the shaft 17 outwardly of the bearing in the transverse memberl3. w

Arranged on the shaft 17 between the members 13 and 14 and rotatable with said shaft is a conductor feed device comprising ahous ing 35," counterbalanced by a weight a. 'At one side 50fthe housing, is arranged a spool 36 around which one turn of the conductors is made prior 'to*con-- tinuing their passage through the shaft 17. The

spool 36 is mounted on a shaft 37 supported in' ,the-zhousingBS, and heldv against displacement from said shaft by a spring controlled dog 37a. Secured -.tothe shaft within the housing is. a worm gear 38 which mesheswith; a worm .39 mountedon another shaft 40 disposedabove the shaft 37, and the shaft 40 projectsqout through one side of the housing in :the production of. the member 13, and has thereon a gear 41 which meshes with a gear 42- secured to themember .13 so that as the housing 35, together with the gear 41, rotated with the shaftl'l, :the gear 41 will he rotated 'byvirtue of the gear ratio providedso as to cause the shaft 40 to be rotated, andcorrespondingly rotate the pulley 36 through the worm and worm gear 39 38 as will 'be apparent.

It will, thusbe seenthat the conductors 24 will be fed from the spool 23*by virtue of this ffeed mechanism, and this feed will be so controlled and regulated as to supply the required amount .of conductors to that point. in the .machine where the armored casing is wound or wrapped on said conductors.

Prior to the. armored: casing .on the conductors, two protector sheaths orv casings are spirally wound ,upon said conductors, and these casings are formed by two paper strips 43.--43a fed .from delivery rollers 43b arranged :upon a shaft 44 having spring tensional means45 cooperating with each roll to prevent unravelling of the strippaper from said rolls; The construction and method of handling each paperistrip is identical so that the brief descriptioneof one will applytoboth, N. .1 1

The paper strip coming from the roll iscomparatively wide and is firstpassed downwardly through a vat or dipping tank 46 .containing a compound 47 preferably having water and'ifire proof properties whenapplied'to the paper. This compound is maintained in a liquid state bysuitable heating means which form no specific part of this invention, and for this reason is 'riotshown. The paper-strip is guided through the 'vat'by a suitable guide bar 48 after which the paper passes through a wiping-1 device 49 to remove excess amount of the compound. On leaving the wiper 49, the. strip is passed through two scoring rollers 50 and 51,, the roller 51 :being supported .on a spring arm 52. which tensionally supports said rollerinvengagement with the :roller 50 to form two creases in the. paper strip inwardly of the side edges thereof to facilitate the folding of said side edges inwardly upon the central portion of the strip to form a narrow paper strip-of three p'ly' The rollers 50and51 are shown :in-detail in 1,976,821 j 'T j 3 of the drawings, from which Figure, it will be noted that the roller 51 has spaced V-shaped grooves 510, and the roller 52 corresponding spaced projecting annular ribs 50a which, in cooperating with the grooves 51a, creases the paper strip in the manner above stated. Two sets of the rollers 50 -51318 employed, and one set, namely the set controlling the strip 43 which is 'the'first strip to be wound upon the conductors 24, has a central groove 50b in which a cotton strand 53 is free to pass in order to feed said strip within and between one of the folded side edges and the central portion of the strip, whereas this cotton strand is not employed in the strip 43a. The strand 53 may be fed from a suitable spool not shown and guided into the groove 50?) passed through a folding device 55 which folds the side edges of the strip. inwardly one upon another andupon the central portion of the strip, so as .to form .the narrow strips which are wound upon the conductors; The folded stripspass over guide .rollers 56 adjacent .the folding device 50 and other guide rollers 57 adjacent the conductors 24, :said conductors being passed. upwardly through the inner end of the shaft 17. 1

At this time,v it is to be noted that while both strips 43 and 43a are being wound onto the conductors atone time, the strip 43 is being wound on the conductors in advance of the winding of the strip 43a thereon. Arranged upon the frame 11 is a table or platform 58, upon which is supported a device for forming and feeding the metal strip :59 'used'to formthe flexible armored casing 59a .ontheinsulated conductors. 'This strip feed and forming device constitutes the subject matter of an applicationfiled by Edwin J. Schneider, January ':4,- 1929, and bearing Serial Number 330,389,111 which application, this-.mechanism is shownin detail. I n

. ,Forthe purpose of completing the combination in .this'machine, brief reference will be made to the structure of thisdev'ice; At 60 is shown the die rollers for forming the metal strip into the desired :cross sectional contour to provide interlocking engagement of the separate coils of the strip in forming the casing 59a, as in other casings of this class. These rollers are driven through a chain of gears 61, 62, 63-, the -gear-63 being arranged on a transverse shaft 64, on which is .a beveled gear 65 which meshes with another beveled gear 66 on the shaft 18, the latter being driven through said shaft and the sprocket and chain :constructioncoupled with the motor 20. Two guide pulleys 6'7 and 68 are employed for guiding the strip .59 into the dies 60."

It will *be understood at this time, that in feeding the strip'from the roller dies 60, the same :is

centrifugal force, in the rotation of thedrum 70,

causing the same to collect in a large coil. The curling die 69 which'is employed is of a dual characteras'seen indetail in Fig. 6 of the drawings, opposite ends'of the die platebeing of similar'construction so that either endof this -die plate may be used and permitting quick interchanging of this die without replacement. Each end of the curling die has an opening 69a, into which the fashioned metal strip is fed, the wall 69b of this aperture terminating in a substantially circular contour and being of a cross-sectional form corresponding to that of the cross sectional form of the strip; and the end of the substantially circular wall is offset laterally as seen at 690 so as to produce the spiral effect and thus cause the strip to be spirally wound upon the insulated conductors. The die 69 is supported in connection with a suitable bracket 72 at the inner end of the strip forming and feed device.

Themetal strip 59 is fed from a delivery reel 73 supported at one side of the machine as clearly seen in Fig. l of the drawings, and before passing through the rollers 67 and 68, this strip is passed through what might be termeda take-up mechanism consisting of two groups of rollers 74 and.

75, the group 74 havingsix rollers or spoolsarranged side by side onga shaft'76, whereas the group 75 has five rollers or spools arrangedside by side one shaft 77. The shaft 76 is supported stationarily in connection with a base plate 78,

whereas the shaft 77 is supported in connection with a block 79 mounted upon a square vertical shaft 80 supported in connection with the plate 78 and a top plate 81, so that the block shaft 77 and the group of spools, 75 may bemoved upwardly and. downwardly toward the group 74, a

chain 82 having its upper end connected with theblo'ck 79 after passing around a sprocket 83 mounted on a crank shaft 84 having an end crank 85. The end of said chain is coupled with a counterbalance weight 86 adapted to move vertically on guide rods 87 mounted in connection with the .bed plate 78 and the top plate 81, Said rods including the shaft 80, serve to support said top plate in connection with the bed plate.

Supported in connectionv with the block 79 is an insulated contact 88 adapted to engage an-' other, electric and insulated contact 89 upon the top plate 81, when the block 75 of spools is in raised position as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The contacts 88 and 89 are in circuit with the electric motor 20 so as to, control the opera tion of the motor whereby the breaking of the.

circuit through the contacts 88 and 89 will break the motor circuit and operate to stop said motor. The purpose of this construction is to care for and obviate breakage of the metal strip 59 when twisted or otherwise caught upon the delivery spool 73 or in the event of any stress or strain to which said strip is subjected prior to passing into and through the feed rollers, and also to avoid any'stress or strain on the forming dies and feed device employed. It will be understood that in the event of a snarl existing on the delivery spool 73,preventing thedelivery' of the strip 59 therefrom, or retarding this free delivery, the stress to which said strip is subjected will be applied to the upper group of spools 57,"causing said spools and the shaft 77 and block 79 to move downwardly, instantly breaking the circuit to the motor 20 to stop the motor operation. By providing the number'of turns in the strip in its passage over the series of spools in the groups 74 and 75, a sufiicierit feed will be provided to the curling die 69 to care for the momentum of the electric motor after the electric circuit to the motor has been broken.

After a'condition such as above referred toha's taken place, and assuming that the group 75 has been lowered to quite some extent, the crank will be operated to raise the groupofspools 75 to again move the same intothe position shown in'l 'i'g. 2, and completethe circuit through the contacts 88 and 89. The counterbalance weight 86 assists in this operationjas will be apparent.

' A guide block 90 is'arranged upon the base plate '78 so as to untwist the strip 59 and to properly guide it into the series of spools in the respective groups 74 and 75. r

I also provide-a friction break mechanism for governing-the rotation of the'shaft'lS, and to assist in stopping the rotation of said shaft whenever desired, which consistsina brake drum 91 arranged on theshaft 18 adjacent the member 16, and a brake band 92 cooperating with said drum, and a lever 93 for actuating said band.

By reason of the feed mechanism employed forfeeding the conductors from the'spool 23 out through the end of the shaft 17, the stress upon the metal strip forming the feeding mechanism is removed, it being understood that the feeding of the strip upon the insulated conductors, after the paper strips 43 and 43a havebeen wound thereon, operates to automatically feed the complete armored cable through'the shaft 18, and into the receiving drum 70. r

This feeding operation causes the conductors to be rotated so as to automatically wrap the paperstrips 43 and 43a thereon, it being understood that thearm 32 with'the roller 33 rotates with the shaft 17 and is insynchronism with the rotation of the'shaft 18." In like manner, the

feed mechanism contained in the housing 35 ro-' tates with the shaft, the gear 41 traveling around the stationary gear 42.

certain details of construction for carrying-the invention into effect, and have, in theaccompa nying drawings, illustrated .a specific, relative arrangement of the several parts or mechanisms of the'apparatus, that the invention isnot limited in these respects, and various changes in and modifications of the construction herein shown and described may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I tric conductors into the machine, means for curl-v ing the metallic'strip around said conductors to form a flexible, metallic casing therefor and m feeding the resulting product through the machine into a suitable receiver, means'for guiding two paper strips into the machine to be spirally wound on said conductors'prior to forming said armored casing thereon, and means, intermediate said delivery means and curling means, for providing a positive feed of the conductors into the machine prior to forming an armored casing thereon 2. A machine of the class described involving a frame, means centrally of the frame for feeding a formed metallic strip into the machine, means at one end of the frame for delivering electric conductors into the machine, means for curling the metallic strip around said conductors to form a flexible, metallic casing therefor and for feeding the resulting product through the machine 11 It will be understood that while I have showninto a suitable receiver, means for guiding two 156;

4 paper stripsi'nto the machine to-be spirally wound on said conductors prior to forming said armored casing thereom. meansinwa fdly; of said deliv ery means for providing a positive feed of the conductors into the machine prior to forming an armored casing thereon, said last named means comprising a feed roller around which the conductors are wound, and, means for rotating said roller. a v

3. A machine of the class described involving a frame, means centrally ofthqframe for feeding a formed metallic strip into the machine, means atone end ofthe frame for deliyering electric conductors into the machine, means for curling the metallic strip around said conductors to form a flexible, metallic casing therefor and for feeding-the resulting product through the machine into a suitable receiver, means for guiding two paper strips into the machine to be spirally wound on said conductors priorto forming said armored casing thereon means inwardly of said delivery means for providing a positive feed of the conducs' tors into the machine prior to forming an armored casing thereon, said last named means comprising a feed roller around which the conductors are wound and means for rotating said roller,'a metallic strip take-up mechanism through which the strip is adapted to pass prior to its passage through said forming and feeding means, and means actuated by said take-up mechanism for automatically stopping the operation of the machine when said metallic strip is subjected to excessive stress or strain.

4. A machine of the class described involving a frame, means centrally of the frame for feeding a formed metallic strip into the machine,

means at one end of the frame for delivering electric conductors into the machine, means for curling-the metallic strip around said conductors to form a flexible, metallic casing therefor and for feeding the resulting product through the machine into a suitable receiver, means for guiding two paper strips into the machine to-be spirally wound on said conductors prior to forming said armoredcasing thereon, means inward- -ly of said delivery means for providing a positive feed of the conductors into the machine prior to forming an armored casing thereon, said last named means comprising a feed roller around which the conductors are wound and means for rotating said roller, a metallic strip take-up mechanism through which the strip is adapted to pass prior to its passage through said formingand feeding means, means actuated by said take-up mechanism for automatically stopping the opera- 'tion of the machine when said metallic strip is subjected to excessivestress or strain, and other means for automatically stopping the machine when the conductors have been removed from .the delivery means. 1 5. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, two tubular shafts rotatably mounted in the machine and arranged in axial alinement with adjacent ends in spaced relation,

, means for rotating said shafts in synchronism, an electric conductor delivery roll mounted at one end of one of said shafts, a receiving drum at the other end of the other shaft, means intermediate adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feeding a coiled metalstrip ontothe conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, meansadjacent said last named means for spirally winding two paper strips onto the conductors prior to arranging the armored casing thereon, means for guiding the conductors adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feed- I ing a coiled metal strip onto the conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, means adjacent said last named means for spirally winding two paper strips onto the conductors prior to arranging the armored. casing thereon, means for guiding the conductors from said delivery roll into and through the'first named shaft, means adjacent said last named means for positively feeding the conductors into and through said shaft, said last namedmeans comprising a housing mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, a pulley in said housing'around which said conductors are passed, and means actuated in the rotation of said housing with said shaft for rotating said pulley to feed said conductors through the shaft.

7. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, two tubular shafts rotatably mounted in the machine and'arranged in axial alinement with adjacent ends in spaced relation, means for rotating said shafts in synchronism, an electric conductor delivery roll mounted at one end of one of said shafts, a receiving drum at theother end of the other shaft, means intermediate adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feeding a coiled metal strip onto the conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, means adjacent said last named means for spirally winding two paper strips onto the conductors prior to arranging the armored casing thereon, means for guiding the conductors from said delivery roll into and throughthe first named shaft, means adjacent said last named means for positively feeding the conductors into and through said shaft, said last named means comprising a housing mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, a pulley in said housing around which said conducto'rs are pass'ed,,means actuated in the rotation of said housing with said shaft for rotating said pulley to feed said conductors through the shaft, and means for guiding comparatively wide paper strips through a treating solution and for folding each of said strips into a narrow strip of multiple ply thickness'to be wound on said conductors.

8. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, two tubular shafts rotatably mounted in the machine and arranged in axial alinement with adj acent ends in spaced relation, means for rotating said shafts in synchronism, an electric conductor delivery roll mounted at one end of one of said shafts, a receiving drum at the other end of the other shaft, means intermediate adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feeding a coiled metal strip onto the conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, means i adjacent said last named means for positively feeding the conductors into and through said shaft, said last named means comprising a housing mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, a pulley in said housing around which said conductors are passed, means actuated in the rotation of said housing with said shaft for rotating said pulley to feed said conductors through the shaft, means for guiding comparatively wide paper strips through a treating solution and for folding each of said strips into a narrow strip of multiple ply thickness to be wound on said conductors, said last named means involving paper creasing rollers and folding devices.

9. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, two tubular shafts rotatably mounted in the machine and arranged in axial alinement with adjacent ends in spaced relation, means for rotating said shafts in synchronism, an electric conductor delivery roll mounted at one end of one of said shafts, a receiving drum at the other end of the other shaft, means intermediate adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feeding a coiled metal strip onto the conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, means adjacent said last named means for spirally winding two paper strips onto the conductors prior to arranging the armored casing thereon, means for guiding the conductors from said delivery roll into and through the first named shaft, means adjacent said last named means for positively feeding the conductors into and through said shaft, said last named means comprising a housing mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, a pulley in said housing around which said conductors are passed, means actuated in the rotation of said housing with said shaft for rotating said pulley to feed said conductors through the shaft, means for guiding comparatively wide paper strips through a treating solutionand for folding each of said strips into a narrow strip of multiple ply thickness to be wound on said conductors, said last named means involving paper creasing rollers and folding devices, and means for guiding a cotton strand between the folds of one a of said paper strips.

10. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, two tubular shafts rotatably mounted in the machine and arranged in axial alinement with adjacent ends in spaced relation, means for rotating said shafts in synchronism, an electric conductor delivery roll mounted at one end of one of said shafts, a receiving drum at the other end of the other shaft, means intermediate adjacent ends of said shafts for forming and feeding a coiled metal strip onto the conductors to form the flexible armored casing therefor, means adjacent said last named means for spirally winding two paper strips onto the conductors prior to arranging the armored casing thereon,

means for guiding the conductors from said delivery roll into and through the first named shaft, means adjacent said last named means for positively feeding the conductors into and through said shaft, and means for passing said metal strip through a take-up mechanism prior to forming and feeding the same into the machine and means automatically actuated by said mechanism for stopping the operation of the machine when said strip is subjected to excessive stress'or strain.

11. In a machine of the class described involving electric motor drive means for feeding insulated conductors into said machine, means for forming and curling a metal strip around said conductors to form a flexible armored casing therefor, a take-up mechanism through which said strip is adapted to pass, said mechanism involving spaced groups of rollers around which said strip passes, one of said groups being fixed and the other group being movable toward and from the first named group, and an electric switch, actuated in the movement of said last named group, to break the electric circuit to said motor to stop the operation of the machine when said strip is subjected to stress or strain.

12. In a machine of the class described involving electric motor drive means for feeding insulated conductors into said machine, means for forming and curling a metal strip around said conductors to form a flexible armored casing therefor, a take-up mechanism through which said strip is adapted to pass, said mechanism involving spaced groups of rollers around which said strip passes, one of said groups being fixed and the other group being movable toward and from the first named group, and an electric switch, actuated in the movement of said last named group, to break the electric circuit to said motor to stop the operation of the machine when said strip is subjected to stress or strain, manual means for raising said movable group into normal position, and a weight counterbalancing said movable group.

13. A machine of the class described including means for feeding insulating conductors into said machine, means for passing comparatively wide paper strips through a compound to thoroughly saturate said strips therewith, means for folding said saturated strips to form narrow strips of multiple ply thickness, said folded strips being wrapped around said conductors, means for forming and curling a metallic strip around said wrapped conductors to form a flexible, armored casing therefor, said strip folding means including rollers for creasing the wide strips to form the folds therein, and means for feeding a cotton strand into and between the folds of one of said 

